


and your tomorrow’s tomorrow too

by godofwine



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Canadian Shack, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 17:50:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9083023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/godofwine/pseuds/godofwine
Summary: “When are we moving out again?” Robert says, low and unamused.


  The thing is, Aaron loves his family, he does, but he might love Robert just a tad more.  And well, the sentiment is not unsympathetic.


  “Not soon enough,” he says back and grins.

Aaron and Robert and a Canadian shack.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thisissirius](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisissirius/gifts).



*

Emmerdale, in all its magnanimity, gives them a white Christmas.Robert is softly edged and resplendent in the falling snow, and Aaron doesn’t even pretend to protest when he pulls him under an errant mistletoe.

But it keeps snowing, and by New Year’s, it’s dropped ten degrees.The pipes in the pub crack and then freeze, and they’re left without water for a week, queuing for showers at Vic’s and Diane’s.Noah develops a cold that lingers into 3 am coughing fits long after he’s stopped sniffling.Liv and Chas get into another argument and their tense silence have only began to thaw into not so friendly potshots.Charity is Charity.

“When are we moving out again?” Robert says, low and unamused.

The thing is, Aaron loves his family, he does, but he might love Robert just a tad more.And well, the sentiment is not unsympathetic.

“Not soon enough,” he says back and grins.

*

This time of the year, all the exotic beach getaways are either booked or too expense or both, but he does find them… _something_.

“It’s meant to be like an escape,” he explains.“You know away from everyone and all the bickering.” _Secluded_ , he doesn’t say.

“Uh-huh,” Robert says.

“And it’s got all the fittings so no more waiting for the toilet.”

The ad had said _rustic_. _A break from the complications of modern living_ , but it had promised hot water and a real bathroom too.

“Mmm,” Robert says.

“Look,” Aaron says.He’s been twisting his ring and he wills himself to stop.“I know it’s not Barcelona or Goa or anywhere fancy, and it’ll probably be even colder than Emmerdale if that’s even bloody possible and-“

“Aaron,” Robert says.His eyes are laughing.“You, me, _alone_ , away from here?It’s not exactly a hard sell.”

*

They fly into Toronto and rent a car.Aaron drives because he has more experience driving on the wrong side of the lane.They spend three hours on the freeway before they hit forest and turn off onto the windy local roads.

It was already snowing when they left the airport.Even with their snow tires and American car horsepower, it’s slow going and takes most of Aaron’s concentration.

Robert’s been mostly quiet beside him, either tired from the plane ride or introspective from the weather and the woods.Aaron wonders what he’s thinking.

They’re only here for three days. Hardly worth it, it had felt like, with the flight time, except.

Except Aaron glances over and Robert’s turned at the same time, his smile uncomplicated and brighter than the snow.

*

Their cabin is deep in, at the edge of what would be a glorious lake in the summer.Instead, it’s frozen solid and covered in patches of newly fallen snow.

Robert goes in first, to explore it sounds like from the banging of doors being flung open.But Aaron hesitates.Lets the cold and the sharpness of the air sink into his skin until he feel numb with it.

Unbidden, he thinks of another cabin in the woods.Not the lodge of afterwards that had been a prison of blackmail, incongruous with the romantic connotations of the moment, but the anticipated one, before the fantasy had soured with threats and violence.

When Lawerence had first offered it, when Robert had sweet-talked his way into making it a tangible possibility, Aaron had allowed himself a brief moment to imagine, to feel the rush of bittersweet longing of having Robert as his and his alone.

He had suggested they come because he had seen Robert was unhappy and because he had missed Robert, missed the cocoon of _them-ness_ that had seemed to be pierced with frayed nerves and too close quarters.But it was mad to pick Canada of all places, in winter, without the promise of skiing, no matter that it had been on sale.Standing here, he wonders if there wasn’t some lost _what if_ that he had hoped to recapture.

“Hey,” Robert says, coming back outside. “Why are you still out here?”

“Just taking it in I guess.”

“Well come in.Or if you prefer, we can walk around a bit, explore the woods,” Robert offers.“It’s not snowing that hard.”

Aaron takes in the solid bulk of him, framed like a portrait by the doorway.He takes in the quirk of Robert’s mischevious lips, the crispness of his blue-green eyes, the rudy tinge on his cheeks and the tip of his nose, the fog of each steady exhale.

_Mine and mine alone_ , Aaron thinks.

“Robert,” he says, “I really didn’t bring you here to enjoy the ambiance.”

*

The bed sheets are freezing, and they laugh as they shy away from its touch on each strip of newly bared skin until it heats from the friction of their bodies and they’ve lost the breath to laugh at all.

*

It snows and snows, and by the second day, the cabin door will barely open.

It feels cozy rather than bothersome until their hot plate cuts out in the middle of Robert boiling a can of pre-prepared soup, and they realize they’ve lost the electricity.Robert gamely finishes in the fireplace.

At night, they scour the cabin for all the sheets and quilts they can find and make a makeshift bed in front of the fire.Robert’s built it high; they’re not cold at all.

“You’re good at this,” Aaron says, remembering the way Robert had carefully arranged the kindling around the bigger logs, how he had looked around the cabin and fashioned them a stove top in the fireplace for their soup and later, for cheese on toast.

“You sound surprised.You know I’m not really the soft lad you think I am.”

“I’d never imply such a thing, mate,” Aaron replies, dodging Robert’s reaching hand before letting Robert wrap around him in a tackle.

Later, sweat dampened and satiated, Robert talks. “My dad took me camping a lot as a kid,” he says, voice quiet against the crackling of the fire.“Did the whole wilderness thing - building a campfire, living off the land.He used to say it was something every man needed to know how to do.I used to hate it.Waking up at 4 am to drive to the middle of nowhere to clean fish guts and shiver in a sleeping bag all night.But I guess some of the lessons stuck.”

_I’m sorry_ , Aaron wants to say, like he does every time Robert talks about Jack. He settles for a kiss to the corner of Robert’s mouth instead.

“Do you think we’ll make our flight tomorrow?” he asks.

They had pulled the covers over their heads, creating a tent of their own.The glow of firelight filtering through the quilt is enough to burnish Robert’s eyelashes golden.

“I hope not,” Robert replies.

*

In the morning, the snow has stopped.Outside, its carpeted the frozen lake in a shroud of pristine white.

“Wow,” Aaron says.

“Yeah,” Robert agrees, but when Aaron looks over, he’s not looking out the window at all.

*

By afternoon, the snows melted in long rivets that fill the air with the twinkling of flowing water.“We’ll have to shovel out the car,” Robert proclaims, “but I think we can still get to the airport in time.”

He makes to leave, but Aaron pulls him back.

All weekend, Robert has been practical, eager to be helpful, not complaining once about the cold or the canned food or the physical labour even though they were meant to be on holiday.

The thing is, whatever Robert’s motivations may be, it has been a long time since Aaron’s love for Robert has been tinged with anything like regret.

“Are you glad we came?” Aaron asks.

Robert pulls him close, arms hooking around his neck, a solid, familiar weight.Robert’s lips are only cool for a second before the flush of blood and heat takes over.

“Do you have to ask?” Robert says.

*

**Author's Note:**

> Dear thisissirius, you happen to be one of my favourite Emmerdale writers, so when I got you as my Robron Secret Santa assignment, I was both elated and intimidated haha. I admit, I was a bit stuck on plot ideas until I remember the Canadian Shack challenge, and well here we are! I hope you had a great holidays and thanks for being awesome! <3


End file.
